By Eric Turner, Adriana Gomez Lincon and Freida Frisario -
The Associated Press
The federal judge in the case against former President Donald Trump over classified federal government documents discovered in his Mar-a-Lago mansion heard arguments this Friday to set a trial date, a crucial decision that could affect whether the former president faces trial. to a jury this year over accusations that he hoarded
Top Secret
files in his home and hid them from government investigators.
The trial in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, is now set for May 20, but District Judge Aileen Cannon has already postponed it several times and is now again weighing competing requests from prosecutors and defense attorneys at a hearing. crucial one that Trump attended.
File image contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump shows boxes of records being stored inside the White and Gold ballroom at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.
AP
“This case could be tried this summer,” said prosecutor Jay Bratt, a member of Justice Department-appointed special prosecutor Jack Smith's team, which has pushed for a July 8 trial date.
Defense lawyers, on the other hand, maintain that there is no fair way to have a fair trial in 2024, at a time when Trump is seeking to secure the Republican presidential nomination, but they have nonetheless offered August 12 as a possible start date. jury selection.
“We firmly believe that a trial that takes place before the election is a mistake and should not happen,” said defense attorney Todd Blanche.
“The easy solution is to start this trial after the election,” he added.
Cannon did not speak after the hearing, but implied that he did not consider the case to be at the cusp of trial, telling attorneys that “there is a lot of work left to do.”